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White House-Worthy Holiday Decorations: The Obamas Show How It’s Done

Many people go just a teeny bit overboard on their holiday decorations: from garlands of twinkling lights strung around their homes, to life-size “Westworld”-like animatronic manger scenes crammed onto tiny front lawns. Sometimes things just get a bit out of control.

But for presidents, the sought-for Christmas decorating credo seems to be “excess without insanity.”

And nobody pulls it off quite like the Obamas, who are getting ready to celebrate their last Christmas in the White House. The theme for this year’s celebration is “The Gift of the Holidays”—and it comes complete with a 300-pound gingerbread house, a 19-foot Douglas fir in the Blue Room with the preamble to the Constitution on its garland, and giant pompom replicas of the Obamas’ dogs Bo and Sunny greeting visitors in the East Wing.

That’s in addition to the more than 8,000 bows and ribbons adorning the East Hallway of the White House; trees in the library built from crayons and pencils; and snowball arches created from more than 6,000 ornaments. Wreaths and garlands have been constructed from lemons, limes, clove-covered oranges, apples, pomegranates, and greens to emphasize first lady Michelle Obama‘s commitment to encouraging healthy eating habits for children.

And did we mention the 56 gingerbread houses made of Legos and representing each U.S. state and territory? They took more than 200,000 blocks to construct.

The White House decorations are all about attention to detail this year. Even that massive gingerbread house we mentioned earlier is a confectionery (and cavity-inducing) Christmas miracle unto itself. On display in the State Dining Room, the sugary masterpiece is made of 150 pounds of gingerbread, along with 100 pounds of bread, 20 pounds of icing, and 20 pounds of sculpted sugar pieces, according to The Associated Press. It’s almost too pretty to eat.

Nearly 100 volunteers from 33 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico began trickling in on Thanksgiving and spent the past few days helping to ready the White House for the holidays. Their tasks included trimming trees, hanging lights, and making bows, according to the AP.

Military families were invited first to see the decorations to honor one of the first lady’s favorite holiday traditions, according to The Washington Post.

“We promised to open up this house to as many people from as many backgrounds as possible,” Michelle said at a media preview of the decorations on Tuesday. “And we truly wanted to make the White House the people’s house.”

The smell of the holidays also wafted through the presidential home, with a cookie-scented candle in the security guard station and the mouthwatering scent of roasting meats in the outdoor kitchen, according to The Washington Post.

So take a tip from the first family: Bigger just might be better when it comes to getting your home ready for the holidays. Just be tasteful. Delicious, even.

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